2×2
I purchased a Rubik’s Mini Cube many, many years ago but never solved it. Like most people, I figured, “Ahh, this can’t be that hard!” As most find out, it’s not all so easy! The cube I have is a strange one, as blue and green are adjacent, not opposite. In any event, just after solving my 3×3 in February, 2011, I grabbed my mini cube to figure it out. The thing exploded and I had to put it all back together again. Most cubers are used to this stuff, but it was a challenge for me. It doesn’t turn right now and so I just leave it as a show piece.

I bought a LanLan 2×2 in February for $1.75 and it’s great. My initial times were over a minute (at the time still lower than my 3×3 times) but nothing to be proud of. I don’t know the date, but sometime in June at the end of the school year I got my time to 16.46. Still not very good, but short of learning more, it’s not dreadful.

In September I managed a 13-second solve and that’s where my personal best lied for a year and a half. In March of 2013, I just tinkered around and managed my first sub-10 second solve, an overwhelmingly decent 9.66. I’ll never dedicate the time to really getting much better, but hey, sub-10!

Date

Notes

June, 2011

Best Time: 16.46

September 18th, 2011

Best Time: 13.0

March 5th, 2013

Best Time: 9.66

3×3
A full write-up is forthcoming…

I’ve always had a fascination with the Rubik’s Cube but sadly never solved it. So, for my 35th birthday in 2011, I decided I was going to buy one and solve it as an easy bucket-list item. On the 21st of February, I solved the cube for the first time. I can recall the frustration with the last-layer and having to abandon it. The next day I returned to it and can remember the final turns to see I had actually solved the thing. Brilliant! It was the start of something magical.

Later in the month I bought a Guojia Alpha Rubiks Cube Type A for $9. This would later get broken by a student, but it was infinitely better than my standard Rubik’s brand cube (as every cuber knows.)

Over the next two months, I slowly improved. In April I hit 1:05. That would stand until late July when I got my first sub-1 minute solve. After that, average times got better, consistently under 1:10, then by September, frequently under 1:00

In early October, I fumbled to stop the clock as I watched the timer turn to 50, ending with a 50.40 time. In my head, sub-50!
Several days later, amidst the madness of parenting, my first sub-40 solve! Awesome!

For a while I swapped back to my original cube, lubed by a friend. However, as time went on, the slick turning ended up w/ more lockups and frustration. It’s still quick, but I went back to my Type-A cube and had a few lucky final steps to get my 36.15 time. I was pretty shocked by that one. Was so psyched!

After a long wait, I broke down and got myself a Dayan Zhanchi. I’d heard it was the best cube out there and with the price being reasonable, I took the plunge. Almost immediately I broke my personal best, but it wasn’t until a few months later I would shatter my record by more than 3 seconds. That was a good day! I later bested it a few times in search of a sub-30. That would have to wait a while.

I got new cubes here and there. A ShengShou Wind, but I hate the corner cutting on it. I got a stickerless and stickerless mini Zhanchi. I got a Cyclone Boys stickerless cube for free and that cube is ludicrously fast. But I also got a Formula Cube for free as well. It isn’t great by anybody’s standards, but I love the thing and using my own self-made last-layer strategy, in early 2017 I went back to speedcubing, just to see. Using Twisty Timer, a spectacular Android app, I charted my first 100 solves and finally broke the 30-second barrier. My cross and middle-layer strategies were improving and despite still essentially being a beginner’s method, I managed to break even that record a few days later. It now stands at 29.51, a time I am content with.

Date

Notes

March 19, 2011

Best Time: 1:22

March 26, 2011

Best Time: 1:16.48

April 2, 2011

Best Time: 1:05.09

July 30, 2011

Best Time: 51.75

August 10, 2011

Best Time: 51.63

October 10, 2011

Best Time: 50.40

October 10, 2011

Best Time: 50.18

October 12, 2011

Best Time: 45.55

October 16, 2011

Best Time: 39.96

December 5th, 2011

Best Time: 36.15

September 9th, 2012

Dayan Zhanchi Purchased

September 9th, 2012

Best Time: 35.12

November 19th, 2012

Best Time: 31.98

February 1st, 2013

NOT Best Time: 33.67

March 5th, 2013

Best Time: 31.75

March 19th, 2013

Best Time: 31.50

May 7th, 2017

Best Time: 29.73

May 18th, 2017

Best Time: 29.51

On various dates I did average of 5 times. But the best resided within the 200 solves that led up to my two record-breaking times in May of 2017. As of then my best averages were:

Average Of 3: 32.76Average Of 5: 34.06Average Of 12: 35.11Average Of 50: 37.29Average Of 100: 38.21

4×4
As my fascination with the cube grew, my co-worker told me a local store had official Rubik’s 4×4 cubes for $7. I bought two. One I kept at school and one at home. Each is very different and they’re both horrible. I hate them. For months I toiled with this cube, disliking it, and therefore disliking the 4×4 as a whole.

In any event, I solved the cube rather quickly and set my record within a week and that record stood until mid-August. I struggled with popping and lock-ups but still managed a decent time. I knew I could get that time so much faster with a better cube so I tried my other, looser one. Two minutes better! Now that was pretty nice!!!

In November I purchased a ShengShou v3 4×4 and within the first day I had shaven another 75 seconds off my time. I lingered around 3 minutes for another week before finally breaking that mark.

The following year I did a number of speed runs. I would average any time between 2:50 and 3:40. Little by little I sped up my times (and avoided time-killing parities!) and finally got under 2:45 on the fourth of July! I broke this record (by less than a second) in March of 2013.

In light of the amazing success 2017 and Sweden offered me, I thought I’d tinker with 4×4 solves again. I ordered a new cube and managed to break my record just after doing so (still using my old ShengShou v3!) Not much else to say except that in two days in May of 2017 I broke two records that had stood since I broke them (in a three-day span) in March of 2013! Getting old isn’t that bad, I guess! Upon receiving the new QiYi MoFangGe Snow Leopard, I broke the record twice in just a few weeks.

Date

Notes

March 21, 2011

4×4 purchased & solved

March 26, 2011

Best Time: 6:42.15

August 17, 2011

Best Time: 6:20.14

August 17, 2011

Best Time: 4:22.53

November 2, 2011

ShengShou 4×4 V3 Purchased

November 3, 2011

Best Time: 3:13.85

November 3, 2011

Best Time: 3:02.96

November 10, 2011

Best Time: 2:56.13

March 18th, 2012

Best Time: 2:53.61

May 14th, 2012

Best Time: 2:50.96

May 15th, 2012

Best Time: 2:49.17

May 25th, 2012

Best Time: 2:48.12

July 4th, 2012

Best Time: 2:41.40

March 5th, 2013

Best Time: 2:40.67

May 19th, 2017

Best Time: 2:18.18

July 27th, 2017

Best Time: 2:14.61

July 30th, 2017

Best Time: 2:12.70

5×5
After some waiting and research, I bought my first 5×5 for $13 in mid-April, 2011. Immediately better than the 4×4, I loved my mini-YJ . However, as the year progressed, I became frustrated with its size (60mm) and a year and a half later I got a ShengShou; I love their 4×4.

Due to the lack of parity issues when compared to the 4×4, I find it much more enjoyable to solve. In fact, it’s a method of relaxation (as my fourth child was born several weeks before getting my first 5×5). I started around the 15-minute mark, then got it to about 10. There it stood for a few months until August of 2011 when I got my V-Cube 6×6 that I went back for speed. I shaved almost 90 seconds from my time, another dozen a few days later and finally got my time under 8 later in the week.

Initially my centers were about 2 minutes but now a good time is 90 to 100 seconds. My edges are still the slowest part of my solve, but upon purchasing my ShengShou, I reduced my time by 25 seconds and had my first sub-6-minute solve. Nice!!! A week and a half later, I broke that record by 6 seconds, reducing my centers to 80 seconds and getting my edges done in 2 1/2 minutes. The following day, I shattered my record and sub-5:30 goal by solving the 5×5 in 5:02.54! It was another 80-second centers solve but the edges must’ve been done in record time to make the record fall by so much. I was really hoping for a sub-5, but zero complaints about that solve. WOW!

Date

Notes

April 19, 2011

Purchased Mini YJ 5×5

June, 2011

Best Time: 9:49.70

August 10th, 2011

Best Time: 8:35.07

August 14th, 2011

Best Time: 8:22.50

August 21st, 2011

Best Time: 7:52.94

October 8th, 2011

NOT Best Time: 7:58.4

November 17th, 2011

Best Time: 6:16.24

October 1st, 2012

ShengShou 5×5 Purchased

October 1st, 2012

Best Time: 5:50.69

October 10th, 2012

Best Time: 5:44.76

October 11th, 2012

Best Time: 5:02.54

6×6
After several months of waiting (and trying to justify the $45 it would cost for another cube), I purchased my V-Cube 6×6 in August of 2011. I was amazed by its weight, clicking mechanism, the incredibly long time it took me to solve and the amount of times it exploded as I was solving it. With the summer off, I was busy watching four kids full-time and getting the quiet time to take nearly a half an hour to finish has continued to be rare. The few times I really tried ended with pieces flying everywhere.

In September I got an actual record time of 16+ minutes. My centers solve clocks at around 8:30, edges another 5, full solve 3 minutes later. Holding pieces together is part of the slow time and barring a sub-15 minute goal, I don’t really need to try for record times on the 6×6.

In November I tried again, clocking a minute faster than my prior solve. My centers were much faster, 5:30, but I slowed down elsewhere. In low light, I have a hard time differentiating blue/green and white/yellow. In daylight, there are no issues. Solving my V-Cube isn’t too enjoyable, really. I’m constantly monitoring how I move so that I don’t get any pops. Even-numbered cubes aren’t my favorite and if I ever get around to getting an actual 6×6, not this V-Garbage, there is simply no doubt this record would tumble.

Date

Notes

August 5th, 2011

V-Cube 6×6 Purchased

August 10th, 2011

Best Time: 29:44.97

September 9th, 2011

Best Time: 16:25.27

November 17th, 2011

Best Time: 15:26.62

7×7
I did not need the 7×7 but then again, I really did. I waited for Christmas to arrive and got myself one. 2011 proved to be the year of the cube, getting and solving the 2×2 all the way up to the 7×7. The cube itself feels so different from the 6×6. It’s a beast, of course, but I’m so pleased in that it doesn’t pop like the 6×6.

After a few months of just playing around with it, my son played with it, drooled on it and I lost some stickers. In mid-March, 2012, I had a day alone. My family was with the in-laws, and I had the ultra-rare day without responsibility. In the evening, I listened to some Joe Satriani and took the plunge. It was about 10 minutes for the centers alone. 6 minutes were needed for the inner edges and another 10 (!) to finalize the edges. I messed some things up here, but let’s face it; even a good solve for me will require a ton of time! I ended up with a solve time of over 28 minutes. Crazy. The 8×8 is on the market. I don’t even want to know how long it would take.

Another ‘speed’ run was attempted in February of 2013. The solve was 4 minutes faster, but still pretty long.

Date

Notes

December 25th, 2011

V-Cube 7×7 Received

December 2011

Best Time: far too long!

March 15th, 2012

Best Time: 28:24.34

February 23rd, 2013

Best Time: 24:49.59

Pyraminx
I like the Pyraminx. It’s not difficult to solve but it’s rather fun. I figured a speed run would be a fun adventure and my current time is pretty quick, just under 14 seconds. This doesn’t seem like a puzzle I’ll do much for speed, but it can be fun!

Date

Notes

February 18th, 2012

QJ Pyraminx Received

February 20th, 2012

Best Time: 20.15

March 15th, 2012

Best Time: 13.80

Megaminx
My first ‘big’ cube purchase was a Pyraminx, Skewb and a 3x3x2. All are cool, but they’re really just novelty for me. None are all too fun to solve and none are a challenge. So, my second bigger cube purchase was a Megaminx, a Void Cube and a Windmill Cube. The former and the latter are just awesome and are such great additions to my collection.

I find the Megaminx to be a nice, relaxing puzzle. It’s not hard, but it is enjoyable. One Saturday afternoon, a good month after purchasing the puzzle, I tried it out for speed. I clocked in at under 8 minutes. Now, I could probably get this time down, but since most of the time is spent finding things, I don’t see this as something that needs real consistent challenging. Maybe I’ll go for another run but I think I prefer the puzzle as a Zen type thing. It has, though, really sparked my interest in the Gigaminx. Hmmm, expensive!